"Boss of Me" is a song by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. The song was written as the theme song for the television show Malcolm in the Middle, and was released as the single from the soundtrack to the show. In 2002, "Boss of Me" won the band their first Grammy Award, in the category of Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. The song was one of the band's most commercially successful singles and is one of their most well-known songs.

Release [link]

"Boss of Me" was released commercially in the United Kingdom, Australia and Europe. Europe was given a separate release from the British release, which had different cover artwork and a different track listing. The single was marketed as the single from the soundtrack album, Music from Malcolm in the Middle,^[1] but the B-sides to all releases were all tracks from They Might Be Giants albums, as opposed to being other tracks from the soundtrack album. "Reprehensible" comes from the band's 1999 internet-only album, Long Tall Weekend. "Mr. Xcitement" went on to be included on their album Mink Car, released two months after the single. "Boss of Me" charted in three countries, reaching number 21 in the UK,^[2] 89 in the Netherlands,^[3] and saw the band's first appearance on the Australian Singles Chart, reaching number 29.^[4]

Music video [link]

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The "Boss of Me" music video was directed by Ted Crittenden. It is based on Malcolm in the Middle, and contains the characters and set from the show. It begins with Dewey going through a dumpster that says "TMBG Toys". He climbs out of the dumpster, gets on his bike to ride home, with a cardboard box following after him with the "toys" inside it. The box goes into Dewey's backyard where Malcolm is present, the father, Hal, is cooking on a barbecue, and Reese is getting something out of a tree. Dewey opens the box, revealing toy versions of the band. But whenever there's a close-up in the box, its the real band, shrunken a lot. There is now a Hawaiian hula dancer toy in the box, and Dewey sways back and forth with her. Then, Malcolm and Reese begin shooting the toys with paintball guns. The toys fall out of the box onto the ground, as they continue to play the song.

Cover Versions [link]

The ska-punk band Less Than Jake covered the short televised version of the song for their album TV/EP.

Formats and track listing [link]

All songs written by They Might Be Giants, unless otherwise noted.

UK / Australian CD single

1. "Boss of Me" – 2:56
2. "Reprehensible" – 3:17
3. "Mr. Xcitement" (D. Levine, The Elegant Too, They Might Be Giants, M. Doughty) – 2:23

UK cassette single

1. "Boss of Me" – 2:56
2. "Reprehensible" – 3:17

European CD single

1. "Boss of Me" – 2:56
2. "Mr. Xcitement" (D. Levine, The Elegant Too, They Might Be Giants, M. Doughty) – 2:23
3. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" (live) – 3:11

Chart positions [link]

References [link]

External links [link]

• "Boss of Me" at This Might Be A Wiki